Dave's Movie Review Page

I have been going to the movies
on a regular basis and offer my thoughts and reactions here. So here is
my take on these movies for what its worth. Agree, disagree or ignore
its your choice ;-)

October 31st 2018 - Hunter
Killer; A slightly sketchy movie about a sub commander who rose thru the
ranks to command his own nuclear attack sub. Naturally he finds himself
under attack hours after sailing toward the Russian waters where one of
our other hunter-killer subs has been lost. He avoids destruction with
a maneuver that would be genius if it were remotely possible, after finding
the sub that attacked him and blowing it to bits. Ignore the reviews,
it seems pacifist PC has infiltrated the movie review business. Go see
a high intensity sub / spec ops movie and be entertained for a couple
of hours.

June 1st 2018 - Solo; A Star
Wars Movie: I liked it fine. I had no preconceived notion of how Star
Wars movies were supposed to play out, I just went to be entertained.
Worked for me ;-)

May 21st 2018 - Deadpool II:
I liked Deadpool, it had an internal consistency, definitly not a hero
movie. If you have seen it you know the several times Wayne Wilson denied
being a hero or an Xmen wannabe. Deadpool II had no such resraint. The
sanitarium for wayward mutants with the super creepy manager might have
been the first line crossed. Then we get to try to rescue the kid with
fire throwing powers and of course that doesn't end well for some of the
cast. So the basic problem is the inconsistency with the first movies'
Deadpool character. "A bad guy that gets paid to fuck up worse guys."
It was entertaining just not as good as the original.

-May 3rd 2018 - Avengers Infinity
War: I guess I have been out of touchwith the Avengers exploits. No idea
what happened to Thor in Ragnarok so I was a bit slow on the uptake. I
am very surprised that Disney decided to treat our heros so badly. When
it was clear that Thanos was going to win and kill off 1/2 of the sentient
universe I could not quite beleive it. It makes sense from the MWO / Transhumanist
agenda perspective. It has been said that hollywood is deep in the pockets
of the satanic agenda. Taking it to the entire universe is kinda overkill
don't ya think?

August 8th 2017 - Atomic Blond:
If you have seen Salt, you have seen this one. A femal Jason Borne taking
violence to a familiar high level. There is a plot and lots of twists
so it is worth your time to see, especially if you fancy yourself good
at figuing out the details before the big reveal. The tension and suspense
are well done.

May 30th 2017 - Alien Covenant:
Only the second movie I have walked out on. In previous movies, the aliens
came out of pods and attacked the people to implant the embryo. This time
dust spores do the job from mushroom puff balls on the ground. Strike
one. So now they have to quarantine one of the infected members and the
two women on the lander get in a bad spot. One gets a big gun, lets out
the creature and starts shooting at it inside the lander that they need
to get back in space. Now she has blown up the lander and they are all
stranded. Strike 2. Strike three is her husband up in the colony ship
is in command and wants to rescue her with the colony ship. Sometimes
stupid actions are suspenseful. This is not one of those, its just stupid
on top of stupid. It seems a good thing the colonists are all going to
die, if they are all this stupid, they don't deserve to live. Keep your
money and let this one go back into the oblivion it must have come from.
As I was leaving I poked my head into the Jack Sparrow movie "Pirates
of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales." The first 10 minutes were
enough for me.

There is a theory that hollywood
has been co opted by the elite to portray adults as barely functional
imbeciles not worthy of emulation, much less, respect. The purported reasoning
is that the children today will have no respect for adults and will stay
adolescent forever until someone offers them a choice. Guess who will
offer them the choice. It doesn't take a lot of observation to start noticing
this in all sorts of TV / Video / Movies & Commercials. Keep your
eye out for examples as you go thru your day. I bet you can't un-know
this!

May 11th 2017 - Guardians of
the Galaxy: I was on the edge of my seat when the Sovereign were trying
to destroy them as they fled, but after they got away with the help of
a stranger with a single ship that wiped out dozens of Sovereign attackers
I was mad at the stupid fox thing Rocket for stealing the batteries. Then
we come to find out that their rescuer was a god (small g) who is also
Peter's father. Things look promising for a while until we find out that
Ego is an angry god who wants the entire galaxy made over in his image,
but he needs Peter's help to combine energies to enact the dastardly plan.
Events develop along expected hero lines with the help of his dedicated
companions and they lost me right there. They went just a bit too far
with the angry god thing. However, if we investigate the subtext the producer
/ writers are alluding to the disclosure of a god like alien come to save
us from ourselves. This plan has been discussed in several venues. The
alien messiah is one of the ploys the Draco / elite have on deck as a
distraction to keep them in power a while longer. Be like Peter, rebel
and just say hell no to alien messiahs!

April 25th 2017 - The Fate
of the Furious: A reasonably satisfying distraction. A super villain woman
with an awesome ship and killer computer skills wants it all. She kidnaps
Dom's ex and baby for leverage and they get busy with her plan. His crew
is very confused as this is not his normal behavior so they are trying
to get in front of whatever is going down. She is good enough to keep
control until the twist we don't see coming. After that it gets very dicey
with all kind of improbable actions that are just barely in the realm
of believable (barely). Naturally there is room for beyond the Fate of
the Furious.

April 11th, 2017 - Ghost in
the shell: Gotta love Scarlett Johansson... its an entertaining movie
if just barely memorable. Lots of hints about AI and what will have to
be done at some point. Its a little like terminator without Arnold.

March 23rd 2017 - Logan: The
iconic x-man is working as a limo owner / driver to make a living in 2029.
Trouble finds him, but he has bigger troubles trying to take care of Charles
Xavier who is suffering seizures, a very bad thing for the most powerful
mind on the planet. Mutants have evidently been largely tamed or eliminated
(not sure which), but lab created specimens abound in this episode. The
lab guys want a certain girl that escaped and Logan finds himself holding
the bag. Pretty dynamic setup here and lots of action ensues. Much of
what happens is well beyond the realm of belief and it ends badly for
Logan and Charles Xavier. There is hope for the franchise in the form
of the girl and others who can carry on the tradition.

March 1st, 2017 - The Great
Wall: Awesome visuals, no so much story. Hard to put a handle on this
movie. First the premise is that ancient reptiles emerge to ravage China
and learn how to do it better every hundred years or so is pretty far
fetched. Thus requiring the creation of a highly trained and dedicated
defense force with interesting, but technically under whelming weapons.
We find they face overwhelming numbers of these creatures and valiantly
battle them eventually getting out flanked and the creatures stream toward
the nearest town where they will have food (people) enabling them to take
over the entire earth. High stakes indeed... An imaginative if completely
unbelievable ending leaves us feeling good about the saving of the planet
and the hero getting what he came for.

February 16th 2017 - John Wick
2: Maybe not the bloodiest movie of all time (see underworld), but as
a shoot-em-up it is certainly in the top 5. This movie is probably dangerous
to your mental health. At the end of the movie most of the people just
sat in the seats (stunned?). The plot is simple enough, but the unstated
story is not. It is actually about the 13 families of the oligarchy, the
so called "high table" and how power is passed from generation
to generation. John Wick is himself a likely product of the CIA or something,
think Jason Borne on steroids. Even with his tactical linings (bullet
proof fabric) he took so many hits he should have died from shock. Well
its only a movie after all, right? I do not recommend this movie, there
needs to be a classification above R.
Note: I saw this one a second time and actually enjoyed it more knowing
just how brutal it would be. It seemed more internally self-consistent
a second time.

January 9th 2017 - Underworld
Blood Wars: Holy blood bath Batman! Seriously folks, this is perhaps the
bloodiest movie I have seen. Apparently I missed an episode, but no matter,
easy enough to catch on to the story line. Vampires fight Lykans lots
of bloody death on an epic scale. But wait, Selene dies and comes back
from the dead in an arcane ceremony in the fortress of the north. Not
only a miracle, but a timely one at that since she shows up at the east
coven castle just in time to kill... oh wait, not supposed to give away
the ending. But you probably get the idea ;-)

January 3rd 2017 - Passengers:
An interesting Robinson Caruso type of movie set in space. An impossible
failure wakes a sleeper on a 120 year journey to another planet. He is
heading out on a colony ship as a mechanic, meaning he is not a first
class passenger. With 80+ years awake and alone to look forward to he
thinks about suicide, but doesn't go thru with it. Later he hatches a
plan to wake another sleeper for company knowing he would be condemning
them to his own fate. After much soul searching he selects his companion
and wakes her up. After a brief romance she eventually finds out what
he did to her, ruining her plans to become a world famous author writing
about the journey to a colony planet and returning to earth, something
no one else has ever done. Unbeknownst to them the ship is in big trouble
with escalating failures of all types. Eventually another sleep pod failure
wakes up a member of the crew and they start trying to figure out how
to save the ship and all the others on board. It gets a bit sketchy from
there (as if ;-)

December 27th 2016 - Assassins
Creed: This movie had great potential that was mostly unrealized. The
main gimmick is a robotic arm that is connected to the "memories"
they stimulate from DNA making the experience more real with movement
appropriate to the experience. The robotic arm is interesting, but unnecessary
and distracting. Where the movie failed most completely is the ending
leaving you feeling like you do 2 hours after a chinese meal, empty and
unsatisfied. Most important is the use of technology required to decode
and stimulate genetic memory. Movies like this are required as disclosure
of technology kept secret, but soon to be disclosed. The Matrix series
is such a "required" disclosure. According to the rules of our
game the rulers must disclose how they rule and the ruled must acquiesce
to the use of the disclosed technology. This is such a movie and as such
we should be aware of the implications. For this reason I highly recommend
everyone see this movie and contemplate what such technology could be
used for.

December 23rd 2016 - Rouge
One: The run up to the alliance's engagement of the Imperial Death Star
turns out to be a white knuckle thriller, more exciting that the rest
of the trilogy. Even though we know they were successful in getting the
Death Star plans and destroyed the Death Star thereby, we find ourselves
sitting in suspense rooting for the rebels. Intrigue between Rogue's father
the weapon's inventor, the Death Star's science commander and Vader adds
a level of interest and suspense as they try to get the plans out of the
system and to the rebel command. The CGI is especially well done keeping
it in check, but enough pop to make us believe it possible. A very well
done addition to the Star Wars franchise.

November 21st 2016 - Fantastic
beasts: Evidently set in NYC circa 1920 a Hogwarts "misfit"
wizard is in search of a magical creature from a broker in the city. He
naturally runs into some pretty outlandish troubles with some of the creatures
he has in his pocket universe that escape at inopportune times from his
travel case. Meanwhile the city is terrorized by a malevolent entity who
tears down buildings and passes under city streets like swimming under
water. The magical authorities in NYC are not amused with his antics and
arrest him, sentence him and a cohort to death on the spot. Seemingly
incidental characters soon are revealed in critical roles to save the
unlucky duo and the city generally. I really love JK Rowlings' writing
and the subtly of her character development. No spoilers... go see it
for yourself.

November 14th 2016 - Arrival:
12 ships show up at various places on earth making no move positve or
hostile. At first governments cooperate setting up communication links
to all 12 sites to try to figure out what they want. Our government seeks
the help of two noted linguists and selects a woman Louise Banks, who
helped in a previous critical situation, to help them figure out how to
communicate with the aliens. The aliens are very large 7 legged "octopus."
They make noise that we can't understand, but can draw characters with
their own ink. Over time Louise and Ian (Avenger's Jeremy Renner) work
out enough of a translation scheme to make progress, but naturally governments
don't think they can wait and want to get it over with. Louise must make
a big decision to save them and maybe everyone else as well. I thought
the movie seemed pretty well done and included elements we all might keep
in mind. I say this because it is likely that Hollywood was paid to produce
this movie as an introduction to our off-planet frien-emies and what first
contact might be like. Just like the new war movies being produced today,
space aliens movies are in resurgence as our controllers are getting ready
for whatever public reaction may be like and how to deal with it when
it comes.

November 10th 2016 - Dr. Strange:
A Marvel Avengers Sorcerer play pitting a brilliant PHD surgeon against
the most powerful evil force in the universe. How's that for maxing out
the threat level... Like you might expect the difficulty rating is high
and the characters are less than likeable, but do redeem themselves for
the most part. Since it would be impossible for Dr Strange to beat the
most powerful force in the universe, how do you suppose he did it... That
is what you will have to go and find out for yourself (no spoiler here).
That said, there are a number of concepts explored by the movie that I
would call unusual. I speak of esoteric knowledge not normally featured
in this kind of adventure film. I think it was well worth the time!

October 25th 2016 - Jack Reacher
Never Go Back: This movie did not garner good reviews and it is for cause.
However pretty much anything with Tom Cruise is worth seeing. Action and
suspense all there if perhaps a bit short lived. I think we are used to
seeing an exciting chase scene last much longer and more of them probably.
Maybe next time he will let someone else direct.

September 27th 2016 - Sully:
You might think a movie about a plane landing on the Hudson river would
be anticlimactic given how much news coverage there was at the time. But
they managed to find an angle that made it very interesting and even a
bit suspenseful. By focusing on the NTSB review we are drawn in to the
event as the pilots saw it. Naturally the authorities wanted to make it
about pilot error. So when Sully (Tom Hanks) stood up to the questioners
and forced them to account for human surprise reaction time, they proved
that there was no way to return to the airport and the decision to land
on the water saved all their lives and many more on the ground. Turned
it into a real feel good movie.

July 29th 2016 - Jason Bourne:
As you would expect the movie is true to its conception of the super agent
who goes from one insurmountable obstacle to the next defeating opponents
left and right to win out as always. So lets look at what else the movie
contains: 1. Information about
the now super intelligent AI that watches everyone everywhere all the
time. This is the upgrade from Treadstone and Blackbriar to Iron Hand
the major difference being the addition of the AI that can tap into a
foreign nations grid and shut down a building remotely (so it would seem
from the movie). All the same types of human operatives are still in evidence
of course.2. An additional glimpse
of the future was shown with the use of a SWAT vehicle that is essentially
a military combat machine. The bad guy steals one and takes it on a rampage
(literally) thru downtown Las Vegas. It was instructive just what such
vehicle could do if it was opposed by civilian vehicles. They were pushed
aside or crushed like tin cans by this thing. I did some research and
found out they cheated on this scene though. Do your own research to see
how after you see the movie. Its not a waste of your time.

July 26th 2016 - Star Trek
Beyond (Credulity): We are all accustomed to suspending belief when it
comes to our favorite shows. Here is an example of something so far beyond
credibility that the movie's title makes sense. Kirk gets to trash another
Enterprise and comes back against impossible odds to save a space station
said to be home to millions. Its very slick and the characters act and
speak much like the originals with the expected awesome CGI. I have no
doubt civilizations exist with technology and resources to build very
large ships and habitats, but lets be serious "millions of people,"
a glass house in space? I very much liked the concepts evidenced in the
station's design, seemed well thought out. Most of you won't be disappointed,
but I'll bet some of you come home wondering why it wasn't as good as
you remember!

June 19th 2016 - Warcraft:
An adaptation of the Computer game of the same name. I thought it was
well done with plenty of action and a reasonable plot. I was troubled
by some audience goers bringing their little children to see it. Maybe
there is little difference between playing the game at home and seeing
it on the big screen, but I can't help but wonder what they are thinking
to let them do either. The critics got it wrong, it is great escapist
action with potential to be a franchise like Avengers.

Captain America: Civil War:
World powers want to reign in the Avengers on the premise that all the
collateral damage is their fault. A lame assertion is also made that because
they are so strong the threats to society have become that much worse.
In short; Super Heros give rise to Super Villains. It seems to work that
way in the movies doesn't it, but would it in real life? Anyhow Stark
is feeling remorse over a particularly heart rending death and sides with
world authority. Captain America thinks it is wrong on many levels so
there is a split. Naturally there is another "super villain"
to deal with and the two sides tear things up for different reasons. The
authorities are more or less helpless to control either group and the
mayhem continues to the conclusion. Great action you have come to expect
from Marvel.

X-Men: Apocalypse:

July 9th 2015 - Mad Max: Fury
Road: Pretty much edge of seat material from beginning to end. I vaguely
remember one of the first installments in this franchise. What impressed
me most in this one are the war machines. I very much doubt many were
3D real, more likely CGI, but fun to see anyway. Lots of action and a
somewhat soft ending I really didn't get. I suppose it must have been
consistent with the MadMax archetype.

June 18th 2015 - San Andreas:
High drama literally.. For a disaster movie happening on a vast scale
the focus of the movie seems off. In spite of all the destruction everywhere
the entire movie was about a single family and the father's valiant effort
to save them. Don't get me wrong, it was entertaining, but sort of like
when you get done with the snack you wonder what's for desert.

May 5th 2015 - Avengers Age
of Ultron: Stark succeeds in creating a machine intelligence that takes
over his lab and the Iron Man robots he has developed. Naturally there
has to be an evil genius at work behind this dastardly development who
is bent on the total annihilation of Earth. So they all get together again
to foil the bad guy's plot and save the planet. Yeah I know, not very
much removed formulayically, but the CGI and action is intense. If you
didn't see it, rent the DVD ;-)

March 21st 2015 - Kingsman:
A James Bond-ish movie featuring a mad billionaire trying to save the
planet by killing off a billion people or more. The premise is that he
manufactures and gives away cell phone sims that connect to his private
network for free phone and internet. The catch is that he can send a signal
thru the phone that drives people mad while reducing inhibitions. The
net effect in testing is that they all kill each other. Kingsmen find
out about the threat and work to disarm the madman, but their head man
is subverted and things go south. It's worth the time, but its not as
cool as Bond.

March 11th 2015 - Chappi: Chappi
is crappy (sorry couldn't resist ;-) The premise is an old one, but they
did a nice job on District 9 so even though the reviews we so so I gave
it a shot and missed. Anyway things were going along ok for a bit then
we got hijacked by these not very bright joburg bangers. I don't really
need to get in the weeds here, suffice it to say that Chappie becomes
aware in a banger gang setting. Chappie is forced to help them rob a armored
truck. Meanwhile a bad guy in the robot factory infects all the androids
with a virus so his police bot can get some action. You can probably guess
the rest except for the ending. I won't spoil it for you, but you will
need to suspend any belief in logic.

January 24th 2015 - Never Lose
Focus: Will Smith & Margot Robbie are con artists who team up in a
theft ring. They one up each other and part unfriends and unhappy. Later
on they are involved in another caper with a LOT of money at stake. He
pulls off the job, but a twist at the end you never saw comming was cool.

January 16th 2015 - The Hobbit:
Battle of 5 Armies: A fitting conclusion to Hobbit Bilbo Baggin's story.
This movie brings all the benefits of current technology to the story
without overwhelming us with over the top effects. By now the film is
out of most theaters, so enjoy it on DVD. I will buy the complete series
when it comes out ;-)

November 25th 2014 - The Hunger
Games Mockingjay Part 1: The previous episode had quite a lot more content.
This episode is a continuation of the plot line except that very little
changes. We find out that our hero's district was destroyed after their
victory and Katniss is enlisted to lead a rebellion, but the pace is slow
with no real intrigue or tension. If you are looking for edge of the seat
adventure, move on and save your time.

November 19th 2014 - John Wick:
Keanu Reeves is a great actor and initially makes us feel some empathy
for his character in this shoot-em-up movie. Ultimately the justification
can't stand up to the level of violence he portrays. Granted that the
folks he kills so callously are not saints and some were trying to kill
him too, but to my mind there is a limit. I do not recommend this movie
no matter what the critics may say. It is simply too gratuitously violent.

November 13th 2014 - Interstellar:
Lots of buzz about the cgi, and initially I was quite taken with it as
well. However, aside from the real possibility of famine caused by climate
change, the rest presents some challenges to even sci-fi credibility.
That said, it is a worthwhile investment for entertainment value as the
story itself is well written even if the science is lame. You will like
the end so no spoiler ;-)

October 22nd 2014 - Fury: Fury
is the story of a tank squad in WWII focusing on the last stages of combat
in Germany. One tank has made it all the way from Africa thru France and
Belgium to Germany where things are not going so well. With only 5 tanks
in his squad the staff sergeant in command loses his auxiliary driver
who has been with him from the start. HQ pulls a green clerk typist off
the truck and assigns him to be the new driver. This kid is not happy
and neither is the commander. They go thru some rough times where the
other 4 tanks are lost. In one battle 3 of the tanks were obliterated
by a German Panzer... very realistic cgi. Finally they were assigned a
task to hold a crossroad where a very large German force will go on the
way to wiping out a key allied force. A very heroic ending where they
do pretty well against overwhelming odds. Be advised this is a very graphic
movie. I am not sure if I have seen one more so. If you don't like to
see how it was, it may not be for you.

September 30th 2014 - The Equalizer: Like the TV series of the same name
the premise is similar. The vibe is updated with today's military / seal
technology, but essentially the same. I enjoyed the movie and Denzel's
smooth moves in defense of the woman and the non-stop action. Was worth
a look !

September 3rd 2014 - November
Man: Charles Bronson a hard drinking spy / killer goes ballistic when
his former boss sends him to Russia on an extraction of his former "wife"
also a spy. The op goes bad and the Russians are trying to kill them and
the CIA is as well to keep her quiet. The CIA calls an audible and the
extraction team becomes the terminator. While he is rescuing her they
shoot her in the chest thru the windshield and he vows to get revenge.
Within minutes he has found the CIA team and blocks their exit killing
all but one of them. This is the first ten-15 minutes of the movie and
it gets more involved from there. Like action / suspense go for it...

August 13th 2014 - Hercules:
Hercules and his band of mercenaries are hired by a king to defend a kingdom.
Promised twice his weight in gold they all agree to go against overwhelming
odds and help the kingdom defeat the outlaws. After training the king's
men for a short time the king demands they go and defend a town close
by and are nearly defeated when taken by surprise. Hercules demands that
the king give them time to train the troops into an army and leads them
against the outlaws. In a heroic and strategic battle they defeat the
outlaws and are given their reward. There is a nasty plot twist where
they find out the truth of their engagement. You will have to see the
movie to find out what they did ;-)

August 6th 2014 - Guardians
of the Galaxy: A fun movie about some pretty inept characters competing
to possess a stolen orb. Although they don't know what it does, when they
all become targets of the bad guy Ronan and others out to get the orb,
they have to form an alliance to keep the orb away from the bad guys.
This is a fun and action packed movie well worth the investment.

July 29th 2014 - Lucy: Scarlett
Johansson of Avengers fame is the star of this show. In a kind of silly
chinese gangster plot to distribute the next great recreational drug,
they kidnap people and force them to carry drugs in the belly to other
countries where they are intercepted to extract the drugs. Like I said
silly, but Lucy gets kicked in the midsection by a particularly vicious
bad guy which breaks the drug bag. The effect of so much of the drug sets
her off on a hectic chase to find a way not to die from the overdose.
From there it gets pretty intense. Highly recommended.

July 1st 2014 - Transformers
Age of Extinction: For a movie that was completely dismissed by the critics
, 17% on the Tomatoe Meter, it was very satisfactory to me ;-) It has
also racked up $100+ million in the first weekend! I agree that some of
the dialog seems to have been written by a moron and even my credulity
was stretched to the limit, but... The action is fierce. On the downside
humans are portrayed as self obsessed, viscous killers willing to sacrifice
anything or anyone to get rid of the alien robots. Ironically they are
in league with some aliens that have no regard for humans at all. Anyway...
leave your discernment at the door and go enjoy 2 1/2 hours of action
packed mayhem.

June 17th 2014 - How to Train
Your Dragon II: Its really hard to do a sequel, especially when the first
movie was such a sweet one. However, Dream Works / Disney pull it off
pretty nicely. If you go, and you should, you will be surprised by a number
of developments so I won't spoil them for you. If I have a bone or two
to pick they would be about the trajectory of the story. The writers obviously
had an ending in mind and did a few things rather heavy handedly to get
there. IMO they might have been better served to continue a surprising
plot development that had real potential for Hiccup's personal development.
Ah well, hindsight being as always...

June 12th 2014 - Edge of Tomorrow:
Gets high praise from reviewers and audience, but I think not so much.
A very interesting premise about resetting the day to do it over. A very
clever trick by the invading race to insure they will overcome the indigenous
peoples. If they are losing, they reset the day and get a do over. Tom
Cruze gets the power to cause the reset by killing one of the super bad
guys and getting its dna in his blood. A great many do-overs later he
learns he has to go it alone. This is where it gets tricky... the ending
left me incredulous and no spoiler about him getting the girl :-)

May 28th 2014 - X-Men Days
of Future Past: In a word "Excellent." Fast paced action, empathy
toward early character's situations and a fun new character Quick Silver
(faster than a speeding bullet times ten). The film is well worth your
investment, whatever it might be ;-)

April 28th 2014 - Transcendence:
Some of you may know that I don't pay too much attention to critical reviews.
If the audience likes it, I take that as a good sign. At 45% on the audience's
tomatoe meter it has a pretty dismal rank. However, I wanted to go to
a movie this morning so there you go ;-) It was not that bad nor was it
very good. The premise is lame from the git go, but hey, I like sci-fi
and sci-fi it is too. The computer in the beginning was eminently believable.
Today Big Blue III (Jeopardy champ) emulates human responses pretty darn
well. But, we go from there to the deep end real fast. The genius computer
whiz gets poisoned so his wife wants to save him as an AI. Things pretty
much go down hill from there. Except for the idea that such a machine
could amass a fortune very quickly and do anything it wants including
save the world (sort of). That part we can understand, but most of the
rest not so much. It would be interesting to see what could be done with
unlimited resources and all the knowledge of the race at one's command.
What the heck, how much can you bitch about a decent sci-fi movie on a
$6.50 ticket...

April 9th 2014 - Captain America:
I have come to expect a level of quality in Marvel's adventures. Captain
America The Winter Soldier does not disappoint. Fast paced with a plot
twist or four it keeps us riveted to the story. CGI may be somewhat over
the top in 3D, but it is a large part of why we go; so.... Spend some
time with someone at the theater, you won't be disappointed.

March 31st 2014 - Noah: Maybe
the drought is over and some good movies will be seen (maybe). I liked
this movie -- strong characters well played. Interesting to see Emma Watson
in something new. She did the part well IMO. I have always though the
premise of god's wrath at mankind's folly was lame, but like all fiction
if you can suspend belief and simply enjoy the plot I think you too will
find it interesting and entertaining. The watchers are especially imaginative
as fallen angels becoming rock people was a good idea.

March 27th 2014 - Divergent:
Movies have sucked bad enough that it has been more than a month since
I last saw one (and it sucked too -- see Pompeii below). Divergent changed
that for the better. According to critics the 80% of audiences that liked
the film are dumb teenagers engaged in thoughtless wish fulfillment. Right
on.... Good movies that entertain don't have to be oscar candidates or
please critics who have inflated egos. One reviewer actually disparaged
it by comparison with Hunger Games which I did not quite hate.
So lump me in with those that are pleased to see good acting in an action
movie that moves along smartly and finishes strong.

February 21st 2014 - Pompeii:
Sometimes you should believe the reviews. The special effects did not
even begin to make up for the lack of integrity in this film. Forget any
illusions you may have about the history of Pompeii and the Roman Empire.
This movie seeks to bare the souls of the men and women of the times only
to spend any credibility we might have been willing to invest in portraying
a 10 year old boy as the last horse whisperer from the horse clan killed
by the very same men he now faced in Pompeii. I have a bridge to sell
if you are in the market too. I was so disgusted by the ending that I
walked out of the theater. If you think I am wishing I made a different
choice you are right and you still can if you haven't got your ticket!

January 16th 2014 - 47 Ronin:
Although it is a movie about old Japan and imperial control of the warriors
(Samurai), it offers what feels like a glimpse into the village life the
samurai lived and their pure dedication to excellence & skill. I don't
know how accurate the portrayal of that life and dedication is. However,
if any community was able to live that pure a life a lot of our issues
would go away. Not the political ones, the Shogun did what he had to do
to prevent a regional war just as our politicians would.

January 10th 2014 - Lone Survivor:
A "true story" of a Seal Team in Afghanistan on a recon mission
to find a Taliban Commander. The operation is blown at the start by tribesmen
driving a herd of goats into their hiding place. The team leader recognizes
the mission is over and releases the tribesmen. The seals try to get away,
but don't find a way out or a place to get radio communication back. They
do get a message out by sat phone, but the gun ships were sent on another
mission and can't help. Rescue choppers are sent without gun ships to
cover and one goes down as a result so help isn't coming any time soon.
Life gets even tougher for the seals and things go really bad. There is
a twist related to the decision to free the tribesmen and the cavalry
does arrive (not a spoiler - its the title of the movie). The problem
with the movie is the operational premise and execution. In the begriming
they had high air cover for 6 hours, but not available to protect the
mission. There was no way to help them if they missed a check in. They
were on their own in a suspected Taliban stronghold without support or
proven communications availability. Lots of folks; villagers, Taliban
& Seals died because of this stupidity. This is not a movie about
heroes, although there are many, this is a movie about the courage of
4 men and the inadequate support our military seems to be (in)famous for.

December 17th 2013 - The Hobbit - Desolation of Smaug:
Highly imaginitive story developement continues in this epic trilogy of
Bilbo's adventure. As in the book Bilbo uses the ring to live up to the
reputation Gandalf bestowed upon him with the Dwarves while Gandolf goes
off into another part of the story line. In this version Gandolf's part
in the tale seems smaller, but at the same time more intense. The visualization
and detail of the world Jackson creates is well worth the time to see.
What some critics say of the pace and length of the film have merit, but
this is a faithful if over long adaptation / interpretation of Tolkins
work. Go with my blessing my son, and enjoy ;-)

December 6th 2013 - Ender's Game: I was reluctant
to see this movie on the basis of its premise, to wit, children trained
for war. It is true that the young have always died for those too old
to make war. All too often because the old are unable or unwilling to
wage peace. However, they did make a good point, that in an alien space
war, fast reflexes are critical. I lost mine somewhere around 35 (if I
ever really had them). A friend of mine was always faster at every age.
So back to Ender's Game... I did like the development of the characters
and the plot unfolded in an interesting direction. The end of their training
is a bit of a shock we never see coming. It is worth your time to go see
this movie. I bet it will provoke your thoughts about authority and the
application of overwhelming force.

November 26th 2013 - Hunger Games Catching Fire: Evidently
this is a serial / cult movie (wish I had known going in ;-( In summary
a very dark film about a post revolutionary country that is ruthlessly
suppressed by a dictatorial government backed by the military. In this
installment very little effort is made to develop the characters for new
viewers of the game like me. Certainly not enough to make any of the characters
likeable or believable. If you aren't already a fan, this installment
is not likely to make you one. A good deal of action and a fast twisty
close are the only redeeming elements.

November 22nd 2013 - Thor The Dark World: Been quite
a while since seeing a movie. However, Thor and the other Marvel characters
are a must see for me. The Dark World has a lot of moving parts. Harking
back to the foundation of the universe it is the story of the war waged
by the forces of light and darkness. Asgard vanquished the dark forces
to protect the 9 realms long long ago, but we find out that the cycle
repeats every 5000 years. Now those dark forces have come to earth and
Jane Foster is possessed. There are some great plot twists interspersed
in the relentless action that surprise and enthrall. As is usually the
case with hero movies, the bad guys get more powerful and the good guys
have to work harder to make a good showing. You will be happy to know
it all turns out alright, sort of.

September 10th 2013 - Elysium: Matt Damon plays the
reluctant bad ass once more in this dark vision of sci-fi gone amok. He
is poisoned with radiation in a very preventable industrial accident and
cut loose to die by a robot with orders from above. He makes a deal to
get to Elysium where he can be cured by taking an impossible mission.
Given extreme technology in the form of an exoskeleton suit he has to
get to the person who cut him loose to die and download his brain into
his own. So lots happens in a blur of action (literally a blurry movie)
leaving us to wonder what we really saw. But fear not, he fulfills the
mission while he dies and frees all of humanity with citizenship and free
medical care. Good action flick, lame premise, poor cgi - go see the matinee
and save a buck or two.

June 26th 2013 - Man of Steel: The story is remade
with today's technology to good advantage. One could nit pic some of the
details and to be honest some of what happens is hard to swallow, but
as entertainment is is first rate. Go and have a good time. In case you
are curious (I was) there were 7 previous Superman movies, source imbd.com.

June 4th 2013 - After Earth: A hard movie to categorize.
On one hand it is a sci-fi future space tale. On the other it is about
a commander and his son on a training mission. The ship they are on is
damaged in a meteor storm and "travels" (like a warp jump) to
the nearest planet which turns out to be deadly, quarantined, old Earth
where all life has evolved to kill humans (no explanation there). So naturally
the other passengers on the ship are all killed and the commander is hurt
bad with broken legs so only the son can call for help. Only issue is
that the emergency beacon is in part of the crashed and broken ship 60
miles away across very hostile terrain. It comes down to a story about
a boy proving himself to himself and saving his dad against pretty daunting
odds. I like WIll Smith and Shyamalan movies and this one is well done.
I think they could have done better / more with the tech aspects and the
main threat was pretty sketchy, but the pace was good and the visuals
very good. I did not know until now that the actor that played the son
was really Will Smith's son. That explains a lot about the impressions
left by this movie (not in a good way).

May 29th 2013 - Star Trek Into Darkness: All the familiar
characters reprised with new faces and much better CGI. They made many
of the originals with models on strings and real film cameras. This incarnation
is entirely imaginary and takes place in settings that never existed.
Some of you older trekies may be put off by the reuse of an older story
with new twists. Those who are fresh to the franchise will love the non-stop
action for what it is.

May 2013 - Ironman 3: Compared to The Avengers this
movie comes up short. Because the action is so focused on Stark and the
crazed adversary the action gets slow from time to time. The ending was
somewhat confusing as well. No spoiler, but I am not sure why they put
it out there like that. A good movie that lives up to its predecessors
even if not in comparison to my favorite movie of last year!

Last of the Tower Theater movies it is now a Harkin
Theater

March 26th 2013 - Olympus Has Fallen: A former secret
service agent who once guarded the president is trapped in the White House
when it is attacked and taken along with the president and the chiefs
of staff. A very well organized terrorist group lead by a mastermind seems
to have a goal of blackmail, but really plans to anahilate the US using
it's own missles. Lots of dumbass military seat warmers confronting a
situation outside their control. One very effective agent inside who barely
gets the job done. A pretty good movie with lots of dumb plot twists,
but still an edge-of-the-seat ride.

January 22nd 2013 - Last Stand: Arnold Schwarzenegger; need one say more... Only that the level of violence
was pretty extreme even for him. The critics were grudgingly enthusiastic and audiences were more so. I wouldn't go see it again,
but am not sorry I saw it once. Maybe that's as good as it gets for movies like this.

January 15th 2013 - Zero Dark 30: A hard movie to watch. Hard to tell if the depiction of detainee treatment
is accurate or if the events / persons portrayed are or both. Evidently they included a third helicopter that was never used in
the removal/rescue and if not how they got them all out. It never reached the level of suspense or action until the very end by
which time I was feeling pretty disgusted with the whole affair. Getting Bin Laden was obviously an important blow to Alkida leadership.
But like politics and sausage not something for the average person to watch. You should go see this so you don't forget what we
are capable of and to remember it is sometimes necessary to do so, but at the same time realize that torture is known to produce
wrong intelligence and many of the tactics portrayed were unsuccessful. In one scene the actors discuss the fact that the detainee
did not give them anything, but that they could convince him that he did and that his information had saved american lives. That
was the actual turning point when he did give up real intel, not when he was being water boarded, but when he was tricked by skilled
interrogation.

January 3rd 2013 - Hobbit: Almost every movie adaptation of an adventure book has been lame or at least short
changed. Eragorn comes to mind as one of the worst ever IMO. The Ring series was well done and I continue to watch it occasionally.
Hobbit is on a whole new level made possible only with today's CGI and motion camera techniques. The action is faithful to the
book and the interpretation is quite well done. The big surprise is that this 2+ hour movie is Part One! I am so looking forward
to part two!!

September 25th 2012 - Dredd: Cops with super weapons tackle gangs in a 200 story slum under lock down (war
mode). No one can get in or out while they and the gangs battle for survival. Its not all that good as a movie, the premise
is weak and antisocial. You are however caught up in the action and identify with the two cops who face overwhelming odds.
Odd that we experience such an identification while we watch so many killed just because they were there or were forced to carry
a gun. It is a problem for all gangs that some are forced into, but the punishment in this movie is death for all, victim and
perp.

September 11th 2012 - Bourne Legacy: Like I said earlier I was looking forward to The Bourne Legacy
& Total Recall. Unfortunately life passes and movies fade away before you can grab them sometimes. Total Recall got
away so I will have to borrow the DVD someday. Bourne Legacy was quite good in my opinion. I couldn't figure
out how they were going to bring Jason back and now I know. They simply invented a new character and a whole new explanation
for his quick wits and super reflexes. IE drugs. So now they have new characters and can keep the franchise alive indefinitely.
Sounds good to me ;-) Within the context of the plot Jeremy Renner (the new Jason) is someone we root for. Within
the context of normal life he is a stone killer running from us (the government). The really scary thing about this movie
is how (we) use unlimited resources to track these two characters down and try to kill them for what they know in a matter of
24 hours.

I will be skipping Spiderman in case you were
wondering. The plot sounds so lame and I never much cared for the
character in the first place. The professional reviewers really
lambasted it and I think I'll take the hint this time.

August 14th 2012 - Brave: Disney & Pixar... what else do you really need to know. Pixar really
shines delivering super realistic scenes in the 2D version. I assume it was even more awesome in 3D. Pretty much everyone
liked the movie and gave it good marks in the reviews. Some carped about it having a weak plot and it is true, but what
do you want in a movie targeted to a PG audience. Buy the DVD and enjoy it with your kids. The lesson is somewhat
subtle, but there is one.

July 31st 2012 - Dark Knight Rises: Awesome toys! They had to up the ante in the bat cave given the
competition from the Iron Man movie toys ;-) That's as much as can be said for this movie. Batman was well and truly
f---ed. They spent so much time baring his broken soul that the rest of the movie just sort of drifted along. Then
the super villain is revealed to be one of the "Defenders" who isn't very super after all, just real strong and with
a disfigured face. He beats up batman which was not so hard given the long absence from crime fighting. Then he casts
him into an "inescapable" prison after breaking his back to go along with his broken soul. I will let you
figure out how the rest of the story goes, but I think you get the idea.

June 26th 2012 - Prometheus: Wow - save some money and buy an ice cream instead. The reviewers were
impressed with the effects, but what they didn't say was how bad the plot sucked. They said the plot was weak, lacking,
could have been better... They should have said a box of rocks has more personality than this movie. Unfortunately
it is not just a prequel, the door was left wide open to follow the escaping cargo ship to the home planet for more alien fun.

June 19th 2012 - Avengers: Second look... was just as much fun as the first time ;-)

June 5th 2012 - Battleship: The reviewers don't think much of this flick because it has no "socially
redeeming value." It does, however, entertain ;-) At its core is a silly premise that an alien race would send
a few ships to conquer a world. They might have pretty cool weapons, but they were pretty pitiful as weapons of mass destruction.
Fun action film with good special effects. If you like action, and don't mind if it is somewhat lame, go see this one ;-)

May 31 2012 - MIB 3: If you liked the first two you
will like this one too. K is looking pretty old though and J does
most of the adventuring. No spoiler...

May 24 2012 - Avengers: Awesome movie! Has all
the heroes, but you know that. I may go see it a second time ;-) As
you can see its been a while. Not because there wasn't much to see
(I didn't think so), but because life is good and busy as heck...

October 6th 2011 - Drive: I read all the
reviews and was looking forward to some good action with chase scenes
and typical if graphic shoot-em-ups. Imagine my surprise when
everything I read did not bear much resemblance to the movie. Well
not all, the ones that said it was a quiet thriller were half right.
It was very quiet, given the lack of dialog throughout, but thrilling...
not so much. I never warmed up to any of these characters.
There was little or no attempt to make us care about them and therefore
what happens to them is of little interest. Even the woman who is
supposed to be the good one does not inspire. After all, she carried
on an affair right under her son's nose, what did they expect when her
husband comes home from prison... The critics are shown to love art
firms, so called film noir, and to be incapable of calling a spade a
spade. IMO this film was poorly represented (rotten tomatoes'
critics mislead yet again). Its not really a bad film, it just isn't
all that good or have very much action, just some very graphic violence
which in itself is gratuitous. I despair of finding a movie review
site worth reading.

September 29th 2011 - Killer Elite: A
supposedly true story about British SAS assassinations of an Oman oil
Shake's sons and the revenge killings ordered by him. Holding Hunter
hostage, the shake demands Danny kill the three men responsible for his
son's deaths. The fact that they are SAS trained assassins is only a
minor inconvenience. Danny has adventures that end killing 2 of his
friends / accomplices. The ending is left open so they may be
thinking sequel... Its an OK movie, but I wouldn't bother.

September 15th 2011 - The Debt: Spoiler alert
(as if I could ruin this movie ;-) Advertised as a thriller it falls
seriously short. Tired Nazi hunter story circa 1965. Turns out
they didn't get the bad guy after all, but they lied to cover it up.
So the ex-mosaad woman is called upon to kill the recently surfaced target
before he can reveal the lie. Some decent acting, but just can't
overcome the weak script / concept. The most low key thriller you
will ever see. Save the planet and your money!

September 8th 2011 - Planet of The Apes: Save your
money! Again Rotten Tomatoes misleads. Using the same CGI
technology as Avatar is the best thing that can be said about this
movie. Even given the silly premise, you have to be pretty much
brain dead to believe that an injection of a miracle virus would make an
ape intelligent over night. As a dedicated Sci-Fi addict I am
accustomed to suspending belief. This movie requires belief be
broken completely. Spoiler Alert: The ending is so far fetched
I don't know where to start. Suffice it to say that you are still
safe from intelligent apes while entering Muir Woods
National Monument beyond the Golden Gate Bridge.

August 11th 2011 - Cowboys and Aliens: This
one is kind of cool. although the critics were pretty hard on it. As
usual I am not sure what the critics expected. The director is Tim's
brother Jon Favreau. Perhaps they thought Jon should have done
better with a low budget summer flick given his success with
Transformers. Whatever... go and enjoy it.

August 4th 2011 - Captain America: A fun movie
with an odd ending (no spoiler). A hapless 130# weakling not more
than 4 feet tall tries to join the Army to fight in the war. He is
turned down every time, but recruited by a German scientist for special
forces. He does miserably in basic training, but manages to be the
best with brains and courage. He is selected for the initial trial
of the secret weapon, a machine invented by the doctor and built by Tony
Stark. He is turned into a 220# 6' 5" hulk and becomes the
poster boy for recruiting. Eventually he gets to go defeat
evil forces and be a real hero. Just what you expect and did not
disappoint (me).

July 28th 2011 - Harry Potter and The Deathly
Hollows (2nd look): I like to see movies I like more than once on
the big screen. Sure I will buy the DVD one day and watch it to
death, but even a decent home theater setup can not match the big sound
and the big screen. Watching a second time reveals nuances
passed over initially and I was surprised at some of the content I had
simply missed entirely. Probably a function of seeing it at 1:30 AM
;-) Anyway it made me nostalgic, so I went and bought the other
Potter movies I did not have including Part one of the Hollows.
Recently I watched The Half Blood Prince on DVD. First time since it
came out (except maybe on TV), enjoyed it as well. Personally I hope
they continue the story. I am sure there is plenty to do in the
wizarding world that will keep us interested.

July 14th 2011 - Harry Potter and The Deathly
Hollows (double feature): The local theater did a double feature
with part 1 at 9 PM followed by part 2 at 12 AM. What a zoo (in a
good way). They had several theaters running at the same time so
maybe 400-500 folks watching the movie. Lots of young witches in
costume ;-) I think we are most surprised by the plot twists at the
end. No spoiler here, but certainly the saga could be
continued. I think you will be satisfied with the thoughtful
treatment of these characters we have come to know for so long. Go
and see for yourself.

July 7th 2011 - Transformers Dark of the Moon 3D: An
ambitious project for a comic book movie. Lots of CGI and 3D
effects. Somehow you stop noticing its in 3D, it seems natural now
to watch a movie with "depth". I found myself watching the
autobots "transform" and thinking the artists can't make up
their mind how they do it. It seems like a random process of moving
parts. Some critics hated this movie --- audience loves
it. It is a great summer movie with lots of eye candy.
The girl and the cars are very sexy. The battle scenes have good
tension, if not edge of the seat anxiety. The script is what you
expect (more or less). An entertaining use of 2Hrs and $8 ;-)

June 30th 2011 - Super 8: Kids in 1979 making an 8mm
zombie film accidentally photograph a train crash the air force is trying
to cover up. A bad-ass alien life form on board has escaped and the
air force wants it back. The film is sweet in the handling of the
kid's interactions with each other. Easy to see them as real
characters (hard to do most times). Some good suspense here, not to
mention a great train crash!

June 23rd 2011 - Green Lantern 3D: So so
script and weak direction. Ace test pilot, Hal Jordan, has to defeat
two super automated fighter jets and does so, but freezes thinking about
his father who was killed in a similar jet crash. Give us all a
break... So, he has been an ace test pilot for a long time, but just when
he succeeds, where no one expected him to, he freezes... yeh right.
Ok its not a great movie, but the CGI is awesome and the evil Paralax
would be best seen in 3D. Worth the extra $ for 3D. PS
One of the trailers was for the new Transformers (great 3D effects).

June 9th 2011 - X-Men First Class: Sucks...
Admittedly I am not a big fan of X-men, but the last one I saw was
way better than this. You are never drawn into empathy for the
characters nor perched on the edge of your seat with anticipation.
Not even chuckle, although 2 or 3 in the audience did laugh once. Another
case of Rotten Tomatoes deceiving me. I guess I should give more
weight to the negative reviews. Barely good enough to be worth the
$5 matinee.

May 12th 2011 - Thor: Legendary characters
with comic book treatment in 3D. The CGI depiction of Asgard is pure
eye candy. It has to make comic book illustrators green with
envy. I think the actors did a good job with their characters.
Thor's transformation to a caring hero from a self centered brat with
magic powers was a bit forced; it basically comes out of no
where. He turns around his entire personality after a couple
of hours on Earth and intends to sacrifice himself to save his instant
girl friend and some humans. But of course, that is what heroes do
after all, so we forgive the creative license and enjoy the flick.
Caveat; this is a film that doesn't get a lot of bang from the 3D
buck. Many of the scenes are too dark for depth to stand out.
You might consider saving the 3D premium and seeing it plain.

May 5th 2011 - Fast 5: Action flick with Vin Diesel
& Dwayne Johnson so you know what to expect. Credibility is
strained at every turn however. Their plan is to rob a South
American drug lord after a jail break so they have enough money to
disappear forever. Sounds good, but they soon need a crew and some
very expensive toys to pull it off. Not to mention being chased by
some of the best bad ass federal agents alive. So if you ignore the
unlikely appearance of a couple of million bucks in toys, equipment and a
5 ton safe, its all good. There are several intense chase scenes
with a seriously twisted one near the end. No spoiler, but I don't
know how they did it without killing anyone. Definitely worth a
look, high marks for entertainment value.

April 21st 2011 - Limitless: After sitting in his
squalid apartment for weeks, hoping for inspiration, a down and out, wood
be writer, gets a dear john send off from his up and coming
girlfriend. Out of money from the advance he got to write a
book, he is at a low point when a chance encounter with his ex-wife's
brother gives him a chance to cage a few drinks. The ex-brother in
law seems to be doing well enough, finds out his situation, then offers
him a special pill worth $800. He takes the pill and right away he
writes several chapters of the book and takes it to his publisher.
The rest of the movie plays with the possibilities in pharmaceutical
memory and intelligence with a subplot about losing and regaining the
source of the pills he needs to keep up his abilities. It is an OK
movie that never really gets you on the edge of your seat.
Anticlimactic ending leaves you cold. Surely they could have done better.

April 14th 2011 - Source Code: Decent action movie
with a sketchy plot. Some edge of seat action, a romantic interest
and boy gets girl twist. You may not be real impressed, but likely
not disappointed either.

March 31st 2011 - Paul: Rotten Tomatoes really
got this one wrong! Usually I tend to agree, but this movie purely
sucked. I have never walked out of a theater, but this one was
cause. The cliché humor is sophomoric at best and the protagonists
are just plain lame. The worst part is that I think the director
intended them to be that lame. When the pair from the UK walked into
a biker bar for dinner it was too much. No one in their right mind
would stop for dinner at a biker bar even if they are from the UK. I
happened to catch a review by Ebert on PBS and they both gave it thumbs
down. Unfortunately I had already wasted my time and the
$6.00. I will keep this one in mind when evaluating future Tomatoes
reviews. They obviously have a much lower opinion of our movie going
mentality than I thought.

January 19th 2011 - Green Hornet: Read the reviews
on Rotten Tomatoes, they are as good as any I would make. I thought
the idea of the Green Hornet as a bungling, playboy, thrill-seeker was
lame. It did nothing for the movie. One reviewer said Kato
stole the show and I agree he did a very good job playing the role.
I did get several laughs, some from stupidity and some from great
lines. They seem to have left an opening for a second movie... I
would advise against it.

December 30th 2011 - True Grit: This is a
tough one... In a sense it is a very hard edged movie. Maybe
the old west really was that violent or maybe just the Cogburn character
is. The PG13 rating is misleading, the images are more than
disturbing. Some are gratuitously graphic. I probably saw the
original with John Wayne some time past, but don't recall the
details. I doubt it was this graphic or as hard edged. Lots of
critics and regular viewers liked it, I am not sure I did.

December 17th 2011 - Harry Potter and The Deathly
Hollows: Liked it enough to see it a second time. Like a lot of
flicks, seeing it again reveals details missed the first time. I do
like J. K. Rawlings work!

December 2nd 2010 - Harry Potter and The Deathly
Hollows: I liked it

November 18th 2010 - Unstoppable: An action /
suspense film worth seeing. Not as intense as Inception, but then
not much else is or has been.

October 21st 2010 - RED (Retired Extremely
Dangerous): An engrossing film... Not so much suspense as it is a dark
exposition of the character's character. At least one of the
characters gets out on the plus.

September 30th 2010 - Legend of the Guardians:
A visually stunning CGI flick about a world of owls. Young owls are
forced to choose sides not really knowing what it is about. A pair
(brother & sister) escape to find the Guardians and learn what it is
to fight evil. Pretty standard fare for a summer movie. IE
Reasonably entertaining, suspenseful in the right places and with an
aw-shucks ending. It has a PG rating, but parents should be advised
that it maybe too violent for very young kids. Critics not thrilled,
regular public liked it by a good margin. I agree that it was worth
the $5 ticket.

September 23rd 2010 - The Town: This is a
movie about bad guys and cops with an improbable love story line. IE. One
of the bad guys falls for a victim (the bank manager they robbed).
Some reviews point out how predictable the movie is and it is true.
Some reviews say it is exciting and a fine way to spend a couple of hours
and this is also true. Go see it when the theater has the matinee
special, you probably will be satisfied.

August 27th 2010 - Took my own advice and saw Salt
again :-)

August 19th 2010 - Expendables: This movie got
a rating of 39% positive at rotten tomatoes... I should have paid more
attention and seen Salt for the second time. The sheer scope of the
violence is hard to describe. At least with Salt the violence had a
point. I have lived a sheltered life I guess.

August 12th 2010 - Inception second look: More
than one review said a second or third viewing might be necessary to
explain the action and reveal more detail. I was surprised at the
nuances I missed the first time. There were several parts of the
plot that stood out the second time. Seeing it the second time did
not dull the impact of the suspense and in fact clarified the end of the
movie.

August 5th 2010 - Sorcerers Apprentice 2nd look: The
reviews for the current crop of movies were not great, so I will take a
second look at one or more. I like this movie and will look for the
DVD down the road.

July 29th 2010 - Salt: A female Bond... in
reverse. She is a Russian double agent trained in childhood for
unquestioning obedience and planted in the CIA. While the action is
intense, it is also somehow hard to believe she can take down 4 or 5 armed
men at once or jump from the top of an elevator shaft or from rooftop to
rooftop of moving trucks (three times!). So OK, you need to be
uncritical when going to see a summer thriller and it does deliver on
entertainment. I liked the twist at the end as well. Do ya think
there is a sequel in the works?

July 21 2010 - Inception: This is a real edge of the
seat thriller. The movie doesn't waste a lot of time setting up the
plotline. The action picks up steam fast and the suspense never
stops. You quickly forget where they really are and get sucked into
the action, which is intense. Some good acting in this movie as well
as some folks you will all recognize. A definite must see movie.

July 15th 2010 - Sorcerers Apprentice: This one got
some mixed reviews, mainly based on the director's & Nicolas Cage's
reputation. I don't know what the various reviewers expected.
I think it is just a typical Disney summer movie production. I like
/ liked the Shrek movies and if you did too, you will enjoy this one as
well. It is kind of sappy (like Shrek), but they manage to entertain
with good special effects and high powered villains. The apprentice,
Dave Stutler, is played by the actor JAY BARUCHEL that did the voice of
Hiccup in How to Train Your Dragon. I liked Hiccup in Dragon.
Maybe that has something top do with liking this movie.

July 8th 2010 - Eclipse: I had not seen any of the Twilight
Saga, but was intrigued by the reviews and the 52% rating at
rottentomatoes. I liked the movie overall, probably because I had no
preconception from the earlier installments, one of which is said to have
sucked bad. I liked the fact that it wasn't one of those dark horror
movies, but one that actually made a credible attempt to portray
werewolves and vampires in a "realistic" light. This is a
good movie to take your girl or wife to. She will like the story and
you won't think it sucks ;-)

July 1st 2010 - The Last Airbender: This movie
got killed by the critics. It was given a rating of 8% at
rottentomatoes! I went to see it anyway based on the trailers I had
seen. I walked out thinking the acting deserved no more that a 3 of
10. The main actors were kids that did not seem to have any energy
or experience acting. One reviewer suggests it is the director's
fault in not getting a good read by the kids. I don't know, but it
detracted seriously from the movie. That said, I enjoyed the story
and the effects were intriguing. A lot of imagination went into
creating the sets, especially the Fire Nation's Vessels. An
entertaining, if slightly disappointing, movie with moderately good action
scenes and effects.

June
17th 2010 - The Karate Kid: Pretty much what you expect it to be. It
was entertaining, if a bit slow developing. Jackie
Chan
(Mr. Han) gives a
good performance taking the "Kid" on a journey into a China few
see. One element they could have dropped is Mr. Han's fixation on
the tragic death of his wife and son in a traffic accident. IMO it
added nothing to the plot or the character except perhaps as a nod to
explaining Mr. Han's exclusiveness. If you missed it, go rent the
DVD, you will enjoy it!

June
3rd & April 15th: How to Train Your Dragon: If you can't guess
from the fact I went twice, get a grip! I really liked this
movie. The plot is sweet, even with the Vikings trying to kill the
dragons at every turn. You gotta love Hiccup, a 50 pound weakling in
a land of 300 pound mounds of mussel. Where the men are men and the
women are too. If you haven't seen it, I won't spoil it, but the
plot develops in a completely unexpected direction with a great
ending. I bought the DVD!

May
27th 2010 - Shrek: If you liked the other Shrek movies, you will
probably like this one as well. I though it was good for a family
oriented Disney movie. It manages to keep you in suspense until the
very last, so kudos to the staff.

May
20th 2010 - Iron Man 2: Great new gadgets and indestructible flying
suits the government wants for itself. Naturally Tony Stark
doesn't want to play, so there is a whole subtext going on with a senator
involved with a mad scientist who want to steal the suit (gee wonder what
will go wrong there?). All's well that ends well (of course).

April
15th: How to Train Your Dragon: See June 3rd above

April
8th 2010 - Clash of the Titans: This one features Sam Worthington (of
Avatar fame) as Perseus. Some reviewers found Perseus lacking and I
mostly agree. Compared to the performance he gave in Avatar, this
one seemed pretty dead-pan. It is a good action movie and well worth
renting for a "night out".

April
1st 2010 - Alice in Wonderland: Johnny Depp was good, the rest, not so
much. If you are going to do a remake, it is a good idea to do it
better than the first one, don't you think? For all the flashy
effects and dazzling scenes, it falls short.

January,
February & March 2010 - Avatar: I saw this one 12 times and own
the DVD. The vision James Cameron brings to the screen is so
realistic, it compels you into the Na Vi world without any room for
skepticism. It is very easy to simply get lost in this idyllic
world. The effects brought to life for this movie are not likely to
be matched any time soon. The studio gambled $400 million over 4
years and created a true block buster. That is way too much money to
risk for most studios to attempt a copy. The plot is kind of tired
and predictable, but that is easy to overlook while you are immersed in
his world. In case you can't tell, I think this is the best movie I
have ever seen and I have seen nearly every Sci-Fi movie ever made.
It is also the highest grossing movie of all time and by such a wide
margin it may really be for all time.